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2003
Stepping onto the ice | |
|  | | The frozen landscape of Iceland |
| | Two Staffordshire students are preparing to embark upon an expedition across Europe's largest ice cap. It promises to be the trip of a lifetime and a gruelling test of endurance... but it's all for a good cause. |
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| | Hauling a sledge over miles of a frozen ice cap in one of the bleakest places on earth is not everyone's idea of a summer holiday.
But for Staffordshire university student Hugh Deeming, it seemed the best way to commemorate the death of his sister.
He's off in June with Keele University student Jonathan Carrivick and Dr Matt Roberts, a Staffordshire University graduate to the ice flows of Iceland.
The three of them plan to cross the Vatnajokull ice cap which is the largest one in Europe to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital charity.
Hugh's sister died of cancer 21 years ago and he hopes to raise as much money as possible for the hospital which took care of her.
The Royal Marsden is the largest cancer centre in Europe and much of its facilities and research has been enabled through public support of charitable donations.
The whole trek, which takes place in June, is expected to take them 10 days and they will be exposed to temperatures as low as minus 20C!
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Hugh said that he was hoping the weather would be kind to them:
"Hopefully, we're going to avoid hurricane-force winds, but last time while we were out there, we lost several tents.
"We're going to be at about 2,000 meters altitude and the wind up there could potentially be absolutely horrendous."
The biggest problem on the trip will be food. In fact, it sounds like the dieters' dream - to eat 7,500 calories a day and still not pile on the pounds.
However that's the amount of food they'll be burning off each day just to keep warm in freezing cold conditions and pulling their sledges which weigh 100 pounds over the ice.
Nicola Day is the dietician who's been advising the students on what they'll need to eat:
"What we're looking at is to supplement their food as much as possible with things like glucose powder and skimmed milk to increase the energy content of it."
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They've even come up with a unique training regime to prepare themselves for the expedition.
As well as training at the gym, Hugh Deeming and Jonathan Carrivick have swapped the ice caps for the dirt tracks and are building up their strength by pulling tyres through the fields of Berry Hill in the Potteries.
It's an unusual and humorous sight for sure, but there is a serious point to the whole expedition.
If you would like to help Hugh and his friends by donating some money, you can contact him at the following email address:
[email protected]
Or you can write to:
Hugh Deeming
c/o Dept of Geography,
Staffordshire University,
College Road,
Stoke-on-Trent
ST2 4DE | | | |
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| |  | BBC Stoke and Staffordshire
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Hanley
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire
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tel: (+44) 01782 221281
e-mail: [email protected] |
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